Love Potion: The Re-write
by Xtase
Summary: Re-edited and revamped. "Love at first sight after drinking this potion," Sakura's last-ditch effort to make Sasuke fall in love with her backfires in a disastrous way. Can the village of Konoha, and more importantly Naruto, withstand the almighty force of a besotted Uchiha?


I hereby declare that I claim no rights to **NARUTO © 1999 by Kishimoto Masashi/SHUEISHA Inc.** and receive no monetary benefit for any narrative I publish hereafter based on this manga or any of its other media adaptations.

Warnings are in place for slash (male on male coupling).

-Xtase

_This is the official re-edit of __**Love Potion. **__When the original fic was first written, it was intended to be a one shot, but due to popular demand was extended into a multi chapter story. _

_It feels like the story has come a long way since then, and I might have gotten a little better with my execution, however incomplete the improvement may be. I highly recommend that you read this story, especially if you have seen the one that came before; I hope the changes are not too drastic; and above all, I hope you will enjoy reading this as I have enjoyed creating it. Read on._

* * *

Love at first sight.

The words were like a spell, a charm she chanted within her head and in her heart, while she jogged towards the bridge where she would find _him_.

Her little white teeth began to chew at her cherry berry lips, the tip of her tongue peeping out to swipe them, attempting to quell their buzzing throb. When she thought of Sasuke, sometimes, the tingling in her lips would drive her crazy. They cried out for the feel of his kisses, sweet kisses she was sure must feel like heaven.

Her green gaze grew cocktail-cloudy, and she continued pump her legs, as thoughts of her first love powered the pump of her heart. Her rosy tresses winked in the sun, streaming out behind her, like silky ribbons.

And nervously, she fingered the little glass bottle in her hands.

It had to work. It just had to.

She would do anything for him. Anything to have him look at her, the way she knew she saw him. She wanted to have him finally come close, so close she could smell him, feel his body heat. She needed to know the sensation of his hands gently cupping her face, and tipping her up to meet his gaze. She wanted to see his eyes go molten and soft; shining at her, silently inviting her to kiss him. And when she would kiss him, it would be smooth and dizzying, like the wink of a cherub's eye…

Sakura's cheeks flushed a dazzling pink as her young body shivered all over, from those sweet, terrible daydreams. Her grasp on the precious bottle grew tighter by the moment. The nectar liquid seemed to sing against her breast, where a pitter-pattering heart beat within.

She looked forward to the moment when fate and her darling would finally take her by the hand. This barely-teenaged girl so hopelessly in the throes of calf love had let her childish infatuation get the best of her – and bring about a storm of trouble.

* * *

"Jeez, where the hell is Kakashi-sensei?" a certain orange-clad disaster complained loudly to the trees. "He's always making us wait!"

Sakura was fiddling with the bottle in her clammy hands, staring straight at Sasuke, as always oh so calm and cool, leaning up against the red bridge. Her heart fluttered in her chest; it was now or never.

Steeling herself, she uncorked the bottle and whipped around, smiling prettily.

"Sasuke-kun, I brought something for you,"

She was in front of him before he could even fully turn his head; pushing her way past Naruto and elbowing him in the face much harder than she had to.

"Ow!" he yelped, before he tumbled to the ground. She had not wanted to hurt him, but she couldn't risk Sasuke laying eyes on him first. Eagerly, she pressed the mouth of the bottle against Sasuke's lips and moved closer. The boy was more than a bit startled.

"What are you –" and then he felt liquid pour into his open mouth.

"It's a special drink that boosts your energy," she tipped it up to increase the flow, "drink it all up." her fingers trembled uncontrollably as adrenalin rushed through her veins.

Meanwhile, poor Naruto lay sprawled on the ground, face stinging and eyes watering. "Sakura-chan is so mean..." he muttered to himself.

"H-hey, Sakura, what kind of drink are you giving me?" the Uchiha cried. It became too much to swallow at once, and he began to cough.

_Good, Sakura thought, now all he has to do is look at me..._

By then Sakura's heart was whacking madly against her ribcage. She waited with bated breath, for her beloved to open his eyes and see her; actually _see_ her for the first time. Her nerves twisted in anticipation. He had drunk most of it. It was going to work...

"What did you do that for, Sakura-chan? It really hurts, y'know," said a somewhat irritated voice from behind.

And then it happened.

Sakura felt a hand shove her.

She stumbled and shifted to a side, out of Sasuke's direct line of sight. Pin wheeling her arms to keep her balance, Sakura barely managed to right herself without taking a dive like her blond teammate.

When she regained her footing and looked up, she realized she was no longer facing Sasuke.

Her surroundings seemed to have become profoundly silent. A sort of primal apprehension suddenly knifed through Sakura's belly, instinct telling her that something was terribly wrong. The rosette turned her head left, to Naruto rubbing his abused face –looking not quite comfortable, as if he too felt the tension but could not pinpoint its source. He was not the problem. Slowly, barely daring to lift her gaze, she turned in Sasuke's direction.

Sasuke did not appear to notice the uneasy atmosphere in the least. In fact, he looked – entranced... dreamy even; as if transported somewhere else. Sakura drew in a sharp little breath, captivated; she had never seen him look so handsome. His passive face had suddenly come to life. His eyes danced as he stared at something behind Sakura as if in awe. And when she followed his line of sight –

A puzzled-looking blond was standing right in it.

Sakura's jaw grew slack even as the thought processed in her mind.

_No_.

Naruto, rubbing his sore face, eyes wide and innocent; Sasuke eyeing him as if he were the loveliest thing he had ever seen…

_No. _

_No way. Not another boy._

_That COULDN'T be._

She hoped, no, she _prayed_ that she was right. Sasuke couldn't fall in love with someone of the same sex; that would be far too weird. Maybe the potion wouldn't work.

But her hopes were dashed when the Uchiha gently brushed past her, as if barely seeing her, and stepped up to their teammate.

Naruto took an unconscious step back as Sasuke approached, his instincts cautioning him to be wary. What was with that blush on Sasuke's face? Why the sudden need for close proximity? Naruto was about to rudely ask what the hell Sasuke was playing at, when _it _happened. A very faint, pleasant smell invaded his periphery; and Naruto heard the intimate whispering sound of someone else's clothes coming into contact with his.

He stood there, utterly nonplussed, as Sasuke silently slipped his arms around him, drawing him into a warm embrace.

Unbelievable.

Naruto's blue eyes widened. In his memory, no one had ever held him like this. Aside from Iruka-sensei, Teuchi and Ayame, and now perhaps his teammates, no one would ever touch him unless it involved inflicting some form of pain upon him. He had learned to keep his distance, to stay away, and thus had not been close enough to smell someone in a long, long time.

It was a few moments before Naruto remembered just who it was that was cuddling up to him. Yes, cuddling; Sasuke had latched onto him like an attention-starved child. The calm forest was now obscured from Naruto's sight by the thick unruly hair at the back of Sasuke's head. Naruto stood ramrod straight, body burning, as Sasuke's warmth permeated through him. Soon a smooth cheek touched Naruto's own, and a weird emotion bubbled in the pit of his belly as Sasuke fingers pulled down his collar, to brush his lips against his neck.

Shocking, being touched like this was utterly shocking, Naruto had never been so thunderstruck in his life. Not until he realised what Sasuke began murmuring to him –

"I love you,"

Now _that_ was what took the what-the-hell cake. When the blond's jaw grew slack and his mouth fell open, that was the moment the earth tipped on its axis. For once Naruto was actually struck dumb.

Since when? Since when did his stuck-up ice-cube teammate decide to steal Naruto's thunder and become Mr Impropriety? This could not be happening. It had to be a joke. A very twisted, mean-spirited ploy conceived to torment him. It had to be a lie; Sasuke wanted to revive his clan no matter what, he couldn't do that with another _boy_.

He sought the Uchiha's eyes out, for the first time in his life praying to see that familiar scorn within their stark blackness. But that was not what he saw, that was not what he saw _at all_. His eyes were glowing; no longer possessing their usual air of leftover hearthstones gone cold; but shining like windows a soul actually lived behind. Naruto, acutely sensitive to the myriad of feelings a person's eyes could reveal, came to a sobering conclusion. That what Sasuke was saying… could not be just an act.

Confusion, mercilessly pink _confusion_ fuzzed Naruto's brain over, like cotton candy. He was a jumble of emotions; perversely thrilled about receiving his first love confession, yet oh so horrified that the person who gave it was his natural enemy, Sasuke.

_Sasuke_. The boy who had constantly looked down on him, the one who refused to look _at _him; the one everyone admired; the one who got the most attention from their Kakashi-sensei; the main reason Sakura-chan would not give him the time of day; the guy who suddenly decided to make Naruto's life even more inconvenient by doing – whatever it was he was doing. Naruto's insides tied themselves in knots as the old resentment resurfaced. No, he didn't want this… not from _him_.

Frowning, the blond began to try to wiggle out of Sasuke's hug, and promptly met with formidable resistance. The other boy's grip was steely and relentless. After a few more moments of struggling, the blond ninja began to truly know his teammate's inconvenient strength. Exactly where in that boyish form of his did he pack all this brawn? No matter how Naruto would buck and flail, his effort seemed to get him nowhere. And Sasuke bear-hugged him even tighter, crushing their bodies closer till he was certain both their ribs would bruise.

It was not long before Sasuke tried touching him again.

It was somewhat tentative at first, with Sasuke's fingertips just barely grazing the skin of Naruto's cheek. Only when he managed to pin Naruto's arms to his sides did Sasuke dare to exert more pressure. His slender digits began trailing over the bruise forming on Naruto's face. He flinched away, blue eyes slitting, while Sasuke looked on in utter fascination.

Had this face of Naruto's always been so interesting? All of a sudden, Sasuke could not seem to get enough of it, finding himself incredibly attracted to Naruto's smooth bronzy features. He still had faint vestiges of childhood lingering about his face; particularly his whiskered cheeks. They looked like twin peaches; one glowing and perfect, the other rosy and bruised. Sasuke wanted to take a bite out of those cheeks; and he came temptingly close to doing so, after leaning in and deciding at the last moment to simply kiss the bruised flesh instead. So smooth… so lovely and smooth. Succumbing to instinct, Sasuke swept his tongue across the skin, tasting this flawless blond boy, loving his nearness more, even more…

Naruto began choking out something or other while Sasuke began to slowly stroke his hand over the other cheek. It was as if he were in a trance, and all his worries had disappeared into a sea of forest pines and spices and sea salt – Naruto's smell. It suited him perfectly. Sasuke's heart fluttered as Naruto began to go wild against him, rubbing more of his scent out of the threads of his clothes, rubbing it off so it began to cling to Sasuke's skin. He buried his head into Naruto's neck with a sigh of pleasure, releasing Naruto's arms in favour of tugging his orange jacket off, to better take in this gorgeous smell.

Naruto shuddered as he felt the cool air on his bare arms as he was half-stripped of his jacket. He could not believe this was happening to him. He hadn't asked for Sasuke to start doing these things to him. Why did things always turn out like this? Sasuke's hands rubbed the bare skin of his arms, making him flush pink all over.

And he choked when he felt a hand begin to creep under his shirt.

"Hey, wait – no! Don't touch me there!" the blond cried hysterically, renewing his efforts to push Sasuke away.

Sasuke, his hearing suddenly selective, only leaned even closer; closing the distance between their lips...

"Gyaaah! Nooooo!" and Naruto twisted his neck from side to side, trying to avoid _yet another_ humiliating kiss with his teammate. He plastered one hand over Sasuke's wanting lips and dug the other into his hair, desperately pulling his face _away_ – much to the raven's chagrin and complete discomfort.

"Hey, let go, "he said impatiently. He could feel the hairs being uprooted from his scalp.

"No, _you_ let go!" Naruto hollered in reply.

Sakura-chan – what was Sakura-chan _doing_? Holy hell, she had been watching the two of them carry on all this time! What was she thinking right now, seeing this? He hoped she was mad – hell, he hoped she was _livid_.He would be happy if she hit him now, punched him into next week even; so long as Sasuke would have recovered his sanity by then and they could once again partake in their mutual disdain for one another.

Craning his neck to search for her, he tried to explain himself, "Sakura-chan, this isn't –" and his words died in his throat.

Sakura – looked utterly crushed. She had sunk to her knees on the ground, her eyes glazed in disbelief. Her eyes, swimming with the beginnings of unshed tears, were glued to the back of Sasuke's head. Faintly, Naruto could hear her mumbling to herself; something that sounded like a litany of "_No way, no way,"_ shaking her head no like a slow, heavy pendulum.

Time seemed to stop for Naruto.

"Saku –" was all he ever managed; the rest was muffled behind an opportunistic kiss.

Naruto's second ever kiss.

With the same person who stole his very first.

Despite the smooth, supple texture of Sasuke's lips, Naruto's stomach churned. It was then Naruto realised his error; in his concern for Sakura's feelings, he had loosed his restraining hold on Sasuke; an error he was now paying for in abundance. Sasuke had taken complete advantage of him.

The _prick_!

Utterly _mortified_, he let loose a barrage of choice swear words that sounded like nonsense into Sasuke's mouth, hoping their spite would travel all the way to the bottom and poison him from within. How _dare_ he? Naruto's youth was _ruined_, his mouth tainted, by this unbelievable bastard; _yet_ _again_.

It was the last straw.

Naruto swung his fist with all his power and slammed it into Sasuke's face, finally knocking him away, sending him sprawling into the dirt. The Uchiha threw the blond a shocked, reproachful look, holding his jaw, where he would develop spectacular bruise of his own by the end of the day. He looked at Naruto, blushing all the way up to his ears, panting and dishevelled and more than flustered. Sasuke continued to look at him, until his glare softened. A hungry, slavish gleam came to his eyes as he got up again.

"Hm? What's going on between those two now? Looks like they're performing Chapter Sixteen of '**Icha Icha Violence**'," someone said pleasantly.

Sakura raised her pallid face up, and saw their ever-tardy sensei towering above her – of course clutching the infamous orange book in question. He loomed over, the corners of his eyes crinkling as he smiled from behind his mask. She wanted to smile back, to greet him, or scold him for being late like always, but her scolding partner Naruto was currently occupied fending off the hugs and kisses Sakura wanted for herself.

_Icha Icha... Violence…_

All of a sudden, Sakura felt woozy. She wanted to ask sensei for help, but all that came from her lips was, "I always knew that was a smut book...", before she fainted clean away at her surprised sensei's feet.

Bemused, Kakashi surveyed the strange spectacle his charges made. Whatever was going on here he did not know; but the sight of Naruto throwing a hissy fit while Sasuke tried to cuddle him made him seriously wonder if his ANBU days had truly been more stressful than being a regular jōnin.


End file.
